DS in Reception hasn't been heard to read at school for 2 months - wwyd???

[PiedWagtail]

DS is in Reception. His class got a new teacher this term. He hasn't been heard to read at school since 24 November!!! Not by teacher/TA/parent helper. So effectively we are teaching him to read, not school . WWYD? Say anything or not?? It's not very impressive, is it??

Why, mrz?

I wouldn't presume to speak for mrz, but I suspect that her worries might be due to what sounds like rather muddly mixed method first teaching in your DS's class. He shouldn't be learning to read by working on high frequency words and remembering patterns from stories.......

Sounds like a different teacher has a different way of doing things. Perhaps she doesn't write in a book for you to see. Ds3 (5) in p1 has a reading jotter for us to write in, his teacher doesn't write in it. I don't know if he is heard reading individually (because I haven't asked him) but he reads in his group once a week with his teacher and three times a with his TA. I assume from this they are able to tell how he is getting on. I only know this because I ask him, we don't get anything written down. Do you have concerns re. Ds's reading? If you do I would speak to her, if not wait until parents evening. I'm lucky in that I think ds's teacher is fabulous and trust her completely to bring out the best in him.

It sounds as if the new teacher may be actually teaching him to read rather than hoping he will memorise bits by hearing it read to him I do hope so.

piedwagtail

Picking up a pattern of words and recognising/picking out HF words by being read to does sound rather like "look and say" which is not supporting the Synthetic Phonics methods that guidelines state that schools should use.
I think that's why mrz is concerned, and she knows her onions regarding primary school reading.

Anyway, I'm sorry to say that I can trump your experience.

Ds started school in the first week of September. To date no-one at school has heard him read. Past experience tells me that T.A.s/Teachers/Parent volunteer helpers all write in the reading record book when they have listened to the reception/Y1 children read. I have also quizzed him and he states that no-one has heard him read.

I know, I know, he is only 5, perhaps he shouldn't be relied upon for accuracy here but if they had heard him read they wouldn't have needed my comment in the reading book to let them know that he was already able to read the random words in the pictures of the wordless books (e.g. "shop", "open" etc). They then also wouldn't have needed the comments that he was reading the stage 1+ and stage 2 books in less than 60 seconds. I am curious as to why, when they see my comments in the reading record they just start on the next level up (now on level 3), they haven't actually thought it necessary/taken the time to hear him read to assess which level he is at in order to send home an appropriate level reading book.

I'm not particularly bothered as he reads loads of other stuff from the library/different reading schemes at home but I don't have any ORT to avoid duplication with the school reading scheme. Unfortunately he remembers the "magic key" stories from when he listened patiently to someone else reading when he was younger and can't wait to read them for himself. I think they are level 5 which is going to take me a lot of tactful comments in his reading record to get him up to !

I have just asked ds and he says he "sometimes reads on his own with his teacher and he reads with his partner." On questioning I have discovered his partner is a P7 child. I never write anything in the comments section of the reading jotter, just tick to say he has done it. I'm not really sure what to write.

Who knowsme that's the situation at my DC school.
If I write read by herself, she comes home with next level up. Three times now. each time I check if he read to anyone. Thus far, this hasn't been so

*she !

Ohgoonthen

Unfortunately we have so far had to read 8 stage 1 "wordless" books, 6 at stage 1+, 5 at stage 2 and are 3 books into stage 3. It takes quite a few entries from me writing in the reading record stating that he has found the books easy before it is acknowledged by sending home books of the next level up. Why don't they just listen to him read/assess him and send home the appropriate level of reading material. He just keeps asking if he can start magic key stories soon.

At home he is reading books banded for average reading age of 7, which to be fair can be harder than ORT stage 5, (gets about 90% of the words correct and we work out the others/he learns them as he goes long). He also has a story each evening and likes to spot words as I read it.

His teacher has a class of 31 and I don't want to seem pushy when she has so much on her hands so we just keep doing our own thing at home to keep him interested in reading.

Surely it's the teachers job to challenge and 'teach' every one of his/her pupils? My ds has been heard by teacher and TA alternately, once a week since starting school last sept. I was worried that this wasn't enough. Def. question the teacher on school' approach

Re: 'class of 31 and I don't want to seem pushy' I understand that sentiment but that isn't your problem is it?
My DS has 3 books a week and is heard to read 12-14 pages twice a week. There is always teacher entry in the reading record to tell us how he has read and tell us which words he has found tricky so we can look at them at home and see how it progresses. I am very happy with the feed back and would be unhappy if I didn't get similar when DD goes to school.
Whilst it isn't a parent's job to tell a teacher how to run her/his class it is important to get feedback and to tell the teacher that you woudl appreciate feedback.

My DS is in reception.

The first 'read with teacher' comment appeared in his book last week!
I write comments in his book everyday and he does read beautifully, so she changed him up a book band. And now after her comments last week she thinks he is ready for the next level.

He doesn't read with a TA teacher often, he changes his books in the year 1 class twice a week and i have found out he goes up to the Year 1 class for his phonics session, but is taught by a very new teaching assistant, rather than a teacher. I'm not happy about this, but what can i say.

PiedWagtail can I ask what books your son is bringing home?

Mrz - He's just started on ORT Songbirds books, pink level, after having done Jelly and Bean books. He is coping fine with Songbirds and is able to sound out the words he doesn't know.

He's learned 20 of the 100 HF words he has to learn by the end of reception too.

Stranger and stranger the books don't fit the approach the school has advised using ... very odd. They are both good phonic reading schemes which don't require him to pick up patterns and words by listening to you read.
Does he know all 44 sounds and can he blend them to read words?

I don't think DS had read a book to anyone before this week in Reception but they certainly have been taught lots of phonics and his reading has improved due to this rather than due to reading to anyone at school. I can understand the approach, learn the phonics first then reading is a lot easier .

I had a post earlier in the week about DS coming home with level 1 songbirds, despite reading level 3 fairly easily at home. Well, he came home with another level 1 on Friday, which we did this weekend, and then I chose two level 3s, that he read to each parent. Both of these he managed very easily. I have made a crystal clear comment on the reading envelope now to this effect and I hope he'll bring some level 3s home now, otherwise I could see level 1 and 2s coming home for a fair while and teacher being none the wiser! Hopefully his teacher will be pleasantly surprised at what he can manage.

I think this thread highlights how important communication is between teachers and parents.

When there's a dearth of communication on things like reading records the parents (well the ones that give a shit, anyway) are left wondering what on earth is going on. It's easy for teachers to unintentionally convey an 'oh you don't need to know what your child is doing, don't worry your little head' attitude (when in fact that might not be true at all).

Equally, since it's so important that parents do one to one reading at home and fill in the reading record, I'm surprised that schools aren't more proactive about reminding / encouraging them to do this. At my DC's school the parents are given a note about reading (and homework generally) at the beginning of the year, but that's it. A lot of the parents I speak to in the playground seem a bit clueless about the book changing system - they aren't being intentionally unsupportive, they are just too busy / vague / whatever to realise they should be actually doing something about helping their child to learn to read.

Mrz - the school used to do Jolly Phonics but now uses a combination of Jolly Phonics and SoundsWrite. DS knows the 26 alphabet letter sounds now but I'm not sure about the rest - I have taught him things like th, oo as we have come across them. Ys, he is blending them.

The school said at the start of the term that they'd change books 3x a week and parents should read with their children every night. I have written in ds's reading diary every day for 2 months without the teacher/TA writing a thing in it.

Good to hear that some schools have invested in new books that support the Phonics approach. I used songbirds at home with my older child, they were new on the market then and it really helped reinforce the sounds that were taught in class. (I got 18 books, 6 @ stage 1, 2 and 3, for a bargainous £9.99 from The Book People)

Unfortunately our school still uses the classic Biff and Chip books where level 1+/2 have words like "fierce", "frightened" and "headache" which just don't seem to be beginners' level of words iykwim.

I'd like to donate a lot of phonics style early readers once we are done with them, to help those for whom a more co-ordinated phonics approach would be of benefit, but past experience tells me they may well find their way to the local charity shop book section.

Ds was jubilant this weekend that he now knows all the old HF words from our magnetic words box (He counted them and there were 169 apparently). I'm not sure if HF words are still used as a guide to KS1 reading but the pack some of them came in said it covered years 3,4 and 5. He's a star, I've had it very easy with this reading lark with both of mine, don't know if it's the books we use at home or what.

Wonder when his teacher/T.A./Literacy co-ordinator will spot his true reading level, perhaps I'll just let it be our little secret for the time being so then I can't be accused of being "competitive mum" wanting child to rocket through ORT reading levels for bragging at school gates purposes.

Well the secret is out for us, DS's teacher was interested to hear that he can read the level 3 Songbirds no problem so doesn't really need to bring level 1 home . She is great, I don't know why I hesitated in telling her. She did mutter about "trying to teach the class" but also sees the need for DS to have some harder books. Asked me what we have at home (Songbirds and Read/Write/Inc phonics books), so we'll see what she digs out for him.

I can't believe he's the only child in his Reception class who can read at this level- from posts here I hear of this age children reading at much higher levels- eg your boy whoknowsme. I should think he's the only child she knows about SO FAR- so whoknowsme and other parents please fess up!!! I was thinking the same about donating the phonics readers to the school once we're done, but I'll need them for another year or two as DD starts school nursery in September.

My son's reception teacher hasn't listen to him read in 5 months, but his TA listens to him read once every 10 days. He is a good reader thanks to the work we do at home. The teacher feels that she needs to focus her attention on the less able children in the class, but I cannot believe that in 5 months, she couldn't spare 5 minutes to listen to him read. Am I being unreasonable in thinking that this is incredibly unfair.